Brown is being sent back to Washington from Baton Rouge, where he was the primary official overseeing the federal government's response to the disaster, according to two federal officials who declined to be identified before the announcement.

Well, it is Friday, also known as "Stealth Bad News Day" to the administration.

At this point, we finally have an answer to the question, "what will it take for George W Bush to outright fire someone for incompetence?" The answer appears to be "more than what Michael Brown did." Even though, for instance, his law degree appears to have been not as legitimate as he would like us to believe. Even after the preposterous 5-hour delay to deploy FEMA's resources after Katrina hit. Even after claiming to have been completely unaware of the horrific conditions in the convention center for days. Even after keeping the Red Cross out of the city, at a time when an influx of food, water and supplies, no matter who was sending them, could have stifled some of the mayhem and lawlessness that took place there.

Remember when the Rove revelations regarding the Plame leak broke, Bush told us that any staff member who commits a crime would be out of a job. Yeah, that's not what he said in fall 2003 (anyone "involved" in the leak), nor what he said to his staff in early 2001 (avoid even "the appearance of corruption"), but no matter. Well, by padding his resume, it would seem that Michael Brown committed a felony, should anyone choose to prosecute it.

Fired? Nope, just booted from New Orleans. Bush likes Brownie, wants us to keep paying his salary.

Bush only fires people for one reason: DISLOYALTY. Just ask Paul O'Neill.